Bruce Wilkinson: The Prayer of Jabez

I must apologise for this review as it will be very lopsided. After reading this book over 6 or 7 years ago for the first time, picking it up again now is similar to looking at how a trading stock one bought 7 years ago has performed and developed over the years. Where the returns on the investment worthwhile or should I have discarded it sooner?

For most days in a year, roughly 300 in 365, I have prayed this prayer of Jabez in the morning when I wake up for around 7 years.. #selah. Can you imagine what that might do to a person? You can start to understand why I began this review by mentioning it will not be balanced. Considering this is still a daily habit, the short answer is no, it wasn’t a bad investment and I would be foolish to abandon it now. This prayer is my equivalent to what Coca-cola stocks are to Warren Baffet, irreplaceable.

I came across this book after I had gone through a tough encounter in my life, the only one that made me consider suicide for the first and only time in my life. Everything was a mess. I had been, as Lecrae creatively put it, “on my way to hell with a full tank”. I had hit the lowest I had ever been. Shortly after I made the decision to accept Jesus Christ into my life, this time seriously, this book found it’s way into my hands after I had wondered into a christian bookshop of my own accord.

I read this book with the attitude that I was at my lowest in life so I had nothing to lose by reading it and trying it out. Now I know those were probably the best conditions to read it because I sucked up every word like a sponge that resonated with my new found faith, which happened to be the whole book. A week later I went back to the store and bought the Prayer of Jabez journal that helps you walk these concepts practically as you document your growth. To this day I move everywhere with this journal, whether country, neighbourhood or house, I pull it out when I need to marvel at where I have come from.

Now as I read this current edition of the book, I can see the footprints in the sand left behind by this prayer and what it teaches. Everything from my first job, to my first speech, to registering this first domain (www.amplifiedversion.com which this books website now sits under), to my first degree, to the place where I currently am in my life and everything in between; wouldn’t be the same if I hadn’t read this book. I have even posted on my facebook status a couple of times in the past to express my gratitude for coming across the prayer of Jabez. How a man prayed a prayer 1 verse long, changes the way the bible was being written in that chapter and is called honourable by God who also grants him what he prayed for.

As a brother with no position of title, no payment for reviewing this book and probably won’t get to meet most people that read this review, as one believer to another I HIGHLY recommend you to read this book. It dissects each part of the prayer (1 Chronicles 4:10) so you can understand and appreciate what you praying that you may mix it with your faith and not just pay lip service. I wish I could say I have no ulterior motive whatsoever, but I do and that is you would get to read this book and it have an impacting change on your life for the better.

Indeed God has blessed me and I pray He will continue to do so. Indeed He has enlarged my territory and I pray He will continue to do so. Indeed He has kept me away from evil and I pray He continues to do so. Indeed He has kept His hand with me and I pray He continues to do so. Indeed it has not hurt me and I pray it continues to be so.